Dust confiner and collector for grinding and polishing machines



\ March 22, 1938. N. E. HUDSON 2,111,782

DUST CONFINER AND COLLECTOR FOR GRINDING AND POLISHING MACHINES 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 21, 1956 INVENT OR.

NEAL HOT-50M .W "L z 5 y f u ATTORNEY March 22, 1938. N. E. HUDSON DUSTCONFINER AND COLLECTOR FOR GRINDING AND POLISHING MACHINES 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 21, 1936 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllI'II'II'I'III III III =fIII INVENTOR Patented Mar. 22, 1938 "DUST comma.AND COLLECTOR. FOR

GRINDING AND consume MACHINES Neal E. Hudson, San Jose, Calif.

Application January 21, 1936, Serial No. 60,076

3 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in dust confiners and collectorsfor grinding and polishing machines, and it consists of thecombinations, constructions and arrangements hereinafter described andclaimed. r 3

An object of my invention is to provide a dust confiner and collectorfor a grinding and polishing machine which is especially designed foruse by jewelers, watchmakers, dentists, dental shops,

optometrists, etc., in which the grinding and polishing of articles isdone within an enclosure, this enclosure retaining all of thematerialthrown off during the grinding and polishing operation. In thegrinding and polishing of articles made 5 of gold and saving ofparticles of dust thrown off during the grinding and polishing operationamounts to considerable in the course of a year. Furthermore, should anarticle containing a jewel be ground or polished and thejewelaocidentally become dislodged from its setting, then'the devicewill prevent such jewel from being lost. The device not only saves thedust from the article, but in addition prevents this dust from beingbreathed by the operator. c I

The device is so designed that the operator will have utmost freedominthe use of his hands in grinding or polishing the article. Handopenings in the device are provided for this purpose, and these openingsare provided with yielding edges or cufis that will cling to theoperators wrists, and thus prevent any dust particles from passingthrough the openings during the grinding or polishing operations. Atransparent top is placed in the housing through which the operator canview the object being worked upon, and if desired a magnifying glassalso can be employed.

I not only provide a housing for confining the particles of dust, but Ialso make use of a dust collector which may be entirely removed from thehousing after the operation is completed, and in this way all of thedust is caught. Although the actual grinding and polishing members aremounted in the housing, it is obvious that the actuating means, such asa motor, may be disposed either in the housing or outside of thehousing, as desired.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a partof this application, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of thedevice;

Figure 2 is a top plan View; Figure 3 is a side elevation; Figure 4 is asection along the line Figure 3; r r

Figure 5 is a front elevation of a modified form of the invention; and

Figure 6 is a front elevation of another modifled form of the invention.i

In carrying out my invention I provide a base indicated generally at I,andI mountahousing 2 on the base. A shaft 3 is'rotatably mount ed withinthe housing and carries grinding and polishing wheels 4. The shaft maybe supported in any manner desired, and I have illustrated one end'ofthe shaft as being rotatably carried by a bearing 5 and the other end isconnected at 6- to a motor i. The motor "I may be disposed within thehousing 2, if desired, although I have shown it mountedoutside of thehousing and the connection 6 extends through an opening 8 in the housingwall.

The housing 2 maybe of any'shape desired, and I have shown in Figure 3the top wall of thehousing being provided with an inclined transparentwindow 9. If desired, this window may carry a magnifying portion I0.Figures 1 to 3 inclusive show a light ll mounted on 'the'top of thehousing 2, and so positioned as 'to throw its light rays through thewindow It] and down upon the object which is being worked on.

In order to permit the operator to handle the object while the object iswithin the housing, I provide a front panel I2, and this panel has handand arm openings l3. If desired, the openings 13 can have flexiblesleeves 14 secured to the rims of the openings, and these sleeves willyieldingly engage with the wrists of the operator for preventing anydust from passing through the openings while permitting the operator touse his hands freely in grinding and polishing the object.

The front panel may be secured rigidly to the housing or it may bedisposed slidably in the channels l 5 as shown in Figures 1 to 3inclusive. The panel l2 slides over the front face of the parts 5 thatare disposed at the ends of the housing and extend inwardly a shortdistance. It will be seen from this that the panel can be movedhorizontally andthe housing still will be closed by the panel so long asthe ends of the panel contact with the partitions Hi. This permits theoperator to move his hands in order to cause any one of the desiredwheels 4 to act upon the object. The panel l2 may be entirely removed,and this will give access to the shaft 3 and permit repairs to be madeon the shaft or other wheels to be substituted for those already mountedon the shaft.

The device not only confines the dust within the housing 2 but I providenovel means for trapping or collecting the dust. In Figure 3 I show aslide I! forming the bottom wall of the housing 2. This slide has acurved front edge I8 that acts as a hand grip and permits the slide tobe withdrawn. The slide is positioned directly above a drawer I9, andthis drawer is slidably mounted on the base I. In Figures 3 and 4 I showa brush 20 extending along the front portion of the slide 11, and thisbrush is yieldingly held in contact with the slide by springs 2|. Whenthe slide I1 is withdrawn the brush 20 will yieldingly engage with thetop surface of the slide and sweep the particles of dust from thissurface down into the drawer l9. The drawer may now be removed and thedust particles collected therefrom.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figure 5 the housing 2 isprovided with a front panel 22 that is longer than the length of thehousing. This construction does away with the necessity of providing thepartitions [6. The panel 22 is slidable in the guides IS in the samemanner as the panel I2, and carries the sleeves or cuffs M. In Figure 5I also show a different means for collecting the particles of dust. Thismeans consists of a roll of paper 23 mounted in the drawer l9. Thispaper extends from the roll and is passed over a support 24 positionednear the other end of the drawer. A wind-up roll 25 receives the freeend of the paper and an external knob 26 is connected to the roll 25 sothat a turning of the knob in a counter-clockwise direction will wrapthe paper around the roll 25. This paper has received the dustpreviously from the objects being worked upon, and this dust is Wrappedin the roll 25. After all of the paper has been unwound from the roll23, and wound upon the roll 25, the roll 25 can be removed from thedrawer l9 and. taken to a place where the gold can be recovered.

In Figure 6 I show another modified form of the invention in which thehousing 2 carries a panel 21 provided with a resilient portion 28. Thisportion has openings 29 therein through which the hands and the arms ofthe operator may be inserted. Since the portion 28 is flexible it willpermit the operator to move his hands freely when working upon theobject. The rims of the openings 29 will yieldingly contact with thewrists or arms of the operator and prevent any dust from passing throughthese openings. The entire panel 21 is slidable in the channels I5, andcan be moved to the extent provided by the partitions I6.

In this form of the device an endless conveyor 30 is disposed in thedrawer l9, and this conveyor is carried by rollers 3| and 32. The roller32 may be provided with an actuating knob 33, and the operator, indepositing the material in the drawer, merely rotates the knob 33 forcausing the portion of the conveyor disposed near the top of the drawerto move to a position below the rollers 3| and 32. This will transferthe dust from the conveyor to the drawer.

I have shown various modifications of the device, and it is obvious thatother changes may be made but the principal features are a housing, apanel carrying hand and arm openings therein, and a dust collectingdevice, such as a drawer for receiving the dust thrown oiT by thegrinding and polishing operations.

I claim:

1. In combination, a housing with a window therein, a. front panelslidably secured to the housing and being provided with openings thereinthrough which the operators hands may be inserted, and grinding andpolishing members mounted within the housing.

2. In combination, a housing with a window therein, a front panel withhand openings therein, grinding and polishing members mounted within thehousing, a drawer for receiving the dust particles, a false bottomnormally covering the drawer, and sweeping means active on the uppersurface of the false bottom for sweeping the dust into the drawer as thefalse bottom is moved.

3. In combination, a housing for grinding and polishing members andhaving a window in its wall, a panel constituting one side of thehousing and having hand openings therein, said panel being slidable,said housing having partitions contacting with the ends of the panel forincreasing the distance through which the panel can slide while stillcovering the housing front.

NEAL E. HUDSON.

